Improvement in wheelbarrows



W. H. STEVENS.

Wheelbarrow.

No. 196,945. 7 Patented No v. 6, 1877.

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NYFETERS, FHOTO-LITHOGRAPNER WASHINGTON D C Ulvrrnia STATES PATENT OF IoE.

WILLIAM H. STEVENS, OF COLD WATER, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'WHEE LBARROWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 196,945 dated November 6, 1877; application filed April 5, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. STEVENS, of Cold Water, in the county of Branch and State of Michigan, have invented an Improvement in Wheelbarrows, of which the following is a specification:

The nature of my invention relates to an improvement in the construction of wheelbarrows of that class known as railroad barrows; havingfor its object to combine great strength and simplicity with facility for knocking down for shipment.

. The invention consists, chiefly, in the combination' of the legs and braces with the tray, arms, and bottorngirt, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

Figure 1 is a perspective view. Fig. 2 is a side elevation.

In the drawings, A represents the tray, resting on the arms'B B, connected together under the tray by a bottom board, (I. G O are the legs, bolted to the sides of the arms, with extensions above the latter to receive and support the front board of the tray. 0 O are braces, one at each side, bolted to the side of each arm, with an extension above it to receive and support the back-board of the tray. The ends of the legs and braces of each side converge, and receive between them a crossgirt, D. A strap of iron, b, passes around the foot so formed, the whole being secured by one 'or more bolts.

It will be perceived that, by the use of straight pieces of wood for the legs and their upwardly-extending arms, by using a crossgirt between the points of junction of the legs and a strap of iron around the feet of the legs and over the cross-girt, and bysecuring these several parts with bolts, and by dispensing altogether with mortises, I am enabled readily to knock down my wheelbarrow and pack it in a convenient compass for shipment, and when received by any purchaser it can be put together by an unskillful person. In addition to this convenience, the legs, meeting in the center and converging towardthat point laterally, mutually support each other against the shocks which occur in use, and, if one of them is broken, can bereadily replaced at a small expense.

The position of the bearing or feet of the legs under the center of the tray, While it is suflicient to keep the same in proper position when the legs rest upon the ground, enables the laborer more readily to dump his load directly forward, as is often needed in railroad work, at the same time the lateral convergence of the legs at the bottom enables the laborer to dump the load sidewise. This central position of the legs, acting as a convergent fulcrum, also enables the laborer, by bearing on the handles, to raise the wheel, so that it can readily get into position upon the plank when the same gets out of place, or is unusually high, and saves the labor of quitting the handles and lifting the wheel by hand, as

is now practiced.

I am aware of the invention of John A. Gar ver, dated April 14, 1874., and reissued June 27, 1876 but as said Garver does not describe a wheelbarrow adapted to be knocked down, or constructed with straight legs meeting and uniting under the center of the tray, I disclaim said invention of said Garver.

- What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- A railroad wheelbarrow adapted to be knocked down for transportation, and having straight legs converging at the bottom and meeting'under the center of the tray, a connecting cross-girt and covering-straps :securing the legs and girt together, all constructed, arranged, and attached together, substantially as described and shown.

WILLIAM H. STEVENS. 

